Pop-up ball rod mounting



1967 v G. E. CHRISTIANSEN 3,

POP-UP BALL ROD MOUNTING Filed Nov. 20, 1964 INVENTOR. G E. Ch'R/J TIA NSEN United. States Patent 3,353,192 POP-UP BALL ROD MOUNTING Gerald E. Christiansen, Flora, Ind., assignor to Stephen A. Young, Monticello, Ind. Filed Nov. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 412,743 2 Claims. (Cl. 4203) This invention relates to drain fittings and more particularly to the type known as pop-up fittings. Even more particularly, the invention is an improvement in the construction of pop-up fittings which reduces cost, simplifies construction, improves operation and eliminates leakage.

Even more particularly, the invention avails of a relatively new material having characteristics which assist in accomplishing the previously enumerated improvements.

The particular object of the invention is to provide a pop-up fitting which is easily substituted for any known form of fitting and as such requires only limited changes in the basic components, elimination of certain parts heretofore availed of to obtain the desired result, which parts were troublesome to assemble and often required replacement, leakage frequently occurring where initial installation Was effected.

The specific object of the invention is to improve the operation of the pop-up fitting, while at the same time accomplishing the results previously set forth, with assembly of the unit being easily effected on the job and not required in manufacturing previously thereto.

With the foregoing and other objects in mind, the invention is described in the attached specification and disclosed in the drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the invention and its relation to certain operating means therefor.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional view somewhat enlarged as compared with FIGURE 1, to more particularly illustrate a specifically novel portion of the invention.

FIGURE 3 is an exploded view, illustrating the various parts availed of to accomplish the improved results sought.

FIGURES 4, and 6 are end views of certain of the components availed of in the improvement comprising the invention.

Referring now to FIGURE I particularly, a lavatory fixture generally denoted 1 is shown as having the pop-up generally designated 2 seated in the drain outlet 3 of the fixture 1, said pop-up 2 comprising a body 4 of generally cylindrical nature having the threaded exterior upper end 5 thereon.

The threaded portion 5 is inserted in the drain opening 3 as suggested, with the seat collar 6 threadedly engaged therewith, and in conjunction with threaded nut 7 adapted to maintain the body 4 in place in the said drain opening, a suitable gasket 8 being used for sealing the connection.

Adapted to move upwardly and downwardly in the drain passage 9 of the body 4 is a shut-off member 10 of somewhat conventional form having a seat member 11 on its upper end adapted to coact with a suitable seat 12 formed in the collar 6 previously referred to.

The lower end of the shut-oft member 10 is provided with a suitable extension 13 thereon which is engaged with a part 14, comprising a portion of the operating means generally designated 15.

The part 14 is a rod member, and includes an enlarged portion 16 of spherical configuration through which the part 14 passes, the inner end 17 of the part 14 engaging the extension 13 of the member 10.

The member 10 is intended to be raised and lowered in the usual manner, by means of a lift rod 19, which extends upwardly through the rim 20 of the lavatory fixture 1, and is provided with a knob 21 at its extremity.

Fee

The usual lavatory faucet 22 is provided, connections thereto not being illustrated since they are well known and readily supplied by those skilled in the art.

The lift rod 19 is engaged with the part 14, by means of any suitable connection such as 23 not shown in detail but likewise readily supplied by those familiar with this type of equipment.

The specific elements previously generally described are rather Well known, and that portion of the device now to be described consists of certain of the novel and improved components, which are described in detail, and involving the use of a section 24 usually formed integrally with the body 4, and of cylindrical nature extending outwardly at about right angles to the body.

Seated within this section 24, is a bushing 25- which is shown in greater detail in FIGURE 3, and consisting of a sort of tubular member formed in this instance of a material having the trade name Teflon, this Teflon actually being a fluorcarbon known as polytetrafiuoroethylene, which has advantageous characteristics for the use herein set forth.

This material is, interestingly enough, formed in a manner more nearly related to the method of handling sintered metal than the usual thermo plastics, this not being a thermo plastic, but when it is formed in the shape shown, it has a waxy, greasy characteristic in addition to the advantageous characteristic of not absorbing water and thus maintining its shape in the presence of water.

In this instance, the bushing 25 is inserted in the section 24, section 24 including a converging portion 26, into contact with which, the bushing 25 is caused to move by the person making the installation.

It should be pointed out further that the bushing 25 at its outer etxremity so to speak includes a rounded shoulder 27 adapted to generally conform to the spherical portion 16 and extending somewhat beyond, terminating in a shoulder 28.

When the bushing 25 is inserted and pushed against the converging portion 26, by means of a suitable adjustable means 29, the lip 30 on the bushing conforms with the converging portion 26 and literally extends around the spherical portion 16. In order to effect this in the most advantageous manner, a suitable gasket 31 is resorted to so that turning motion of the means 29 is easy to effect, the member 29 including threaded portion 32 therein adapted to coact with the threaded portion 33 on the section 24 previously referred to.

By suitable manipulation of the means 29, the bushing 25 may be caused to grippingly engage with the spherical portion 16 at the same time sealing around the spherical portion and the section 24 so that the member 14 is maintained in place and can be moved upwardly and downwardly as suggested by FIGURE 1 to thereby open and close the shut-off member 10 as indicated.

FIGURE 2 illustrates the assembled position and relationship of the bushing 25, and adjustable means 29 with the lip 30 on the bushing surrounding the spherical portion 16. By rotative adjustment of the means 29, more or less tension may be placed upon the bushing 25 and thereby the position of the member 14 as it is raised and lowered may be regulated through a gripping action as may be found desirable for most suitable operation of the lift rod 19 by the knob 21.

It is pointed out, of course, that the spherical portion 16 could assume some other shape such as a section of a cylinder, where simple, vertical motion of the lift rod 19 and part 14 takes place, but the spherical configuration is probably as easy as any to manufacture and satisfactory certainly in operation if varying locations of the lift rod 19 are encountered.

It is, of course, understood that other material than the polytetrafluoroethylene may be used, which material might have the same characteristics as that set forth but it is certainly true that the material of his type known as Teflon has been found most satisfactory for this purpose.

I claim:

1. In an actuator handle mounting for a pop-up valve construction including a substantially tubular valve body, a valve member movable between open and closed positions within said body, and actuator means extending through the wall of said cylindrical valve body interconnected with said valve member to operate the same between open and closed positions, the combination comprising: an externally threaded tubular section integral with and extending outwardly from the Wall of said valve body, said section including a first bore adjacent the point of interconnection between said section and said valve body wall, a counterbore of a diameter greater than said first bore extending inwardly toward said first bore from the outer extremity of said section, a converging portion interconnecting said first bore and said counterbore, a substantially nonmetallic deformable tubular bushing includinga first bore portion and a counterbore portion of greater diameter than said first bore portion, an actuating rod including a shank portion and an enlarged pivot portion, said counterbore portion in said bushing being of a diameter sufiicient to supportingly receive in complementary encircling contact said pivot portion of said actuating rod and said counterbore in said bushing of such depth as to receive said pivot wholly within said bushing when said pivot and said bushing are disposed within said counterbore of said section, and means engageable with a portion of said bushing to secure said bushing within said section and to cause the innermost extremity of said bushing to conform to said converging portion of said section.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bushing is comprised of polytetrafluoroethylene.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,827,639 3/ 1958 Schmidt 4 20 3 2,951,721 9/1960 Asp 277205 X FOREIGN PATENTS 889,267 4/ 1896 Germany. 545,880 3/ 1932 Germany.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

B. KILE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN ACTUATOR HANDLE MOUNTING FOR A POP-UP VALVE CONSTRUCTION INCLUDING A SUBSTANTIALLY TUBULAR VALVE BODY, A VALVE MEMBER MOVABLE BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS WITHIN SAID BODY, AND ACTUATOR MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH THE WALL OF SAID CYLINDRICAL VALVE BODY INTERCONNECTED WITH SAID VALVE MEMBER TO OPERATE THE SAME BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: AN EXTERNALLY THREADED TUBULAR SECTION INTEGRAL WITH AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE WALL OF SAID VALVE BODY, SAID SECTION INCLUDING A FIRST BORE ADJACENT THE POINT OF INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN SAID SECTION AND SAID VALVE BODY WALL, A COUNTERBORE OF A DIAMETER GREATER THAN SAID FIRST BORE EXTENDING INWARDLY TOWARD SAID FIRST BORE FROM THE OUTER EXTREMITY OF SAID SECTION, A CONVERGING PORTION INTERCONNECTING SAID FIRST BORE AND SAID COUNTERBORE, A SUBSTANTIALLY NONMETALLIC DEFORMABLE TUBULAR BUSHING INCLUDING A FIRST BORE PORTION AND A COUNTERBORE PORTION OF GREATER DIAMETER THAN SAID FIRST BORE PORTION, AN ACTUATING ROD INCLUDING A SHANK PORTION AND AN ENLARGED PIVOT PORTION, SAID COUNTERBORE PORTION IN SAID BUSHING BEING OF A DIAMETER SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORTINGLY RECEIVE IN COMPLEMENTARY ENCIRCLING CONTACT SAID PIVOT PORTION OF SAID 